Freedom Flyer is a
Vekoma Suspended Family Coaster at the
Fun Spot America Amusement Park
An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...
in
Orlando, Florida
Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...
. It has yellow track and blue supports. Opened in May 2013, it is long.
History
On December 31, 2010, Fun Spot Action Park announced that they purchased an additional adjacent to the park, with plans to triple the size of the park adding a number of new rides.
In April 2011, Fun Spot Action Park surveyed park guests about what types of attractions they would like at the park. Consensus published by the park indicated they wanted
water rides and
roller coasters.
In August 2011, the ''
Orlando Sentinel
The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region, in the United States. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company.
The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by pare ...
'' revealed that the park had contacted at least three roller coaster manufacturers.
In November 2011, it was confirmed that the park would receive two roller coasters: one wood and one
steel
Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...
.
The coaster soft-opened in May 2013.
During the 2015
International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) Trade Show in Orlando, the Freedom Flyer was used to demonstrate
Virtual Reality Technology on roller coasters. By wearing a
VR headset during the ride, speed, dimensions as well as
theming can be vastly extended in the simulated environment, while still experiencing the real
g-force
The g-force or gravitational force equivalent is a Specific force, mass-specific force (force per unit mass), expressed in Unit of measurement, units of standard gravity (symbol ''g'' or ''g''0, not to be confused with "g", the symbol for ...
s and
air-time
In the context of amusement rides, air time, or airtime, refers to the time during which riders of a rollercoaster or other ride experience either frictionless or G-force, negative G-forces. The negative g-forces that a rider experiences is what ...
moments of the actual ride. As of the December 16, 2016, the Virtual Reality aspect was introduced permanently to the attraction.
Ride Description
Freedom Flyer's layout starts with a 90 degree turn into a short,
Lift hill
A lift hill, or chain hill, is an upward-sloping section of track on a roller coaster on which the roller coaster train is mechanically lifted to an elevated point or peak in the track. Upon reaching the peak, the train is then propelled from t ...
. after ascending the lift hill, the ride transitions into a curved drop and an mild hill, then turning into a series of
banked turns overlooking the entrance to the park. Afterwards, the ride proceeds into a
double helix
In molecular biology, the term double helix refers to the structure formed by base pair, double-stranded molecules of nucleic acids such as DNA. The double Helix, helical structure of a nucleic acid complex arises as a consequence of its Nuclei ...
, concluding the ride and sending the ride vehicle to the station. Throughout the course of the ride, there are multiple "foot choppers" (support beams that draw near to the rider's feet, giving the illusion that the rider's legs are going to be chopped off, hence the name "foot chopper"). Additionally, Freedom Flyer's layout is almost entirely made up of turns, as typical for the given
roller coaster model.
See also
*
Fun Spot America Theme Parks
*
White Lightning (roller coaster)
*
Suspended Family Coaster
*
Mine Blower
References
Roller coasters in Orlando, Florida
Roller coasters in Florida
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